Blooming of the Third Lotus
by bigjimbo157
Summary: Lee pursues his way of the ninja, at all costs. Possible pairings later on.
1. A revitalized hope?

A/N: My first attempt at a fanfic. Done some creative writing in the past, but nothing pertaining to an anime I watched. After watching Naruto and getting sucked in by it, I decided to write a fanfic of my own. Since he is one, if not the most, favorite character of mine, I'm going to write a little something on Rock Lee. I think I can identify with him the most, he's a pretty inspirational character to boot (if I can't jump rope 1000 times, then I'll have to do 2000 punches... now that's training). I know this issue will get resolved pretty soon in the manga, but I'm going to take off after the Rock Lee/Gaara fight, when Lee's future as a ninja is in jeopardy. Well, with that, enjoy! Oh yea, quick edit rocks, heh.   
  
Disclaimer: Naruto is property of Kishimoto Masashi.  
  
Chapter One  
  
_...it hurts so much. I don't know how much longer I can last..._ Storms of thoughts about the anguish and sheer pain clouded his mind. Despite the intense pain, he charged forward with clenched teeth, knowing that the moment he stopped was the moment that he lost everything. So many had surpassed him already, so many hours passed blasting away at the same tree trunk until his whole body became numb. What was all that for if he couldn't prove himself now? Almost at his limit, the only thing carrying him now was pure will, the will to protect what was most precious to him...  
  
_...is it over?..._ These were the words that crossed his mind as he looked at the crater before him. _I don't have anything left_, he thought. All the muscles in his body seemed to be ripping apart at the same time. At this point, it would have been a miracle to even walk off the floor. With heavy eyes, he set his gaze forward once more, witnessing at that point the terrible reality. A torrent of sand rushed forth, from it two appendages racing at an incredible pace toward the left side of his body. _This is impossible... I used "it" on him... he shouldn't be able to move..._ By then, the gruesome appendages grabbed hold, and tightened its death grip...  
  
_Nooooooo!!!_ Lee woke with a start, his breathing heavy and rapid. Staring into the empty darkness, he grasped his forehead and wiped the sweat from his brow. He gathered his senses, and saw that he was in a hospital room. His gaze scanned across the curtains and the extra bed, leading him towards the window. Lee could grasp a faint outline of a flower in a vase. It was the same flower that he saw the other day in the afternoon. He still wondered about who put it there.  
  
He lay back down on the bed. _This was the second time I had that dream_, he thought to himself. He grasped his left arm, cringing away suddenly at the sharp pain that followed. _It still hurts quite a bit. __I have to get better soon. Even though I may have lost in the preliminaries, I can still catch them. I need to train harder soon. Train harder..._  
  
Fatigue from the prior grueling battle overrode the tension of nightmares as Lee found himself looking up at the ceiling with a shadowy gaze. _I finally got some shuteye, ehh?_ he thought. The nights seemed to grow longer as the nightmares grew more intense. Lee was the type of person to get over anxiety with loads of hard work. Sitting idly in bed wasn't helping with anything, and Lee suddenly had the impulse to get up and just move around.  
  
"Alright! Let's start off with something light today. After loosening up a bit, I'm going to start doing 100 one-legged squats. If I can't do them, then I'll do 200 right-handed push-ups!"  
  
Lee gingerly sat up and made his way off the bed. Grimacing from the dull pain from his left side, he braced himself on a crutch and went over to an open space in the hospital room. He tried as best he could to stretch out his joints, bracing himself on one leg and maintaining balance. Fortunately for him, Gai-sensei employed an insane variety of training techniques, including those for balance. As he stretched out, Lee enjoyed a brief memory of one of his many training days:  
  
"Lee, you must work on your balance today. Power cannot come from a weak foundation. Now, show me the power of youth! Balance on one leg and take the high-knee stance!"  
  
"Ossu!" Lee happily complied and propelled his knee up, maintaining a steadfast stance.  
  
Gai flashed one of his signature smiles. "You've been doing some major stance-work, haven't you Lee? Alright, hold that stance till lunchtime. Then, work on the other leg. Then, we'll get to the hard part." The sun began to rise in the east at this moment.  
  
"Ossu, Gai-sensei!"  
  
These were one of his happiest moments, training under the tutelage of Gai. He wondered when his wounds would finally heal, so that he could enjoy those moments again. He clenched his fist in heightened anxiety. _I can't wait. Gai-sensei, when can I take these bandages off? I need to fight again. This is my way of the ninja... my way of life._  
  
"Yo, Lee! You're up already? So, this is the springtime of youth!"  
  
Gai-sensei appeared in the doorway, as if to answer Lee's call. "Good Morning, Gai-sensei!" Lee beamed. _Maybe this would be the day when I can finally start my rehabilitation_, Lee thought. "Gai-sensei!" Lee said with an increased enthusiasm," any good news from the doctor today?"  
  
Gai tried not to give such a pained look as he heard those words. He hadn't heard any good news ever since that fateful day. Those words still reverberated over and over in his mind every time Lee got that gleam in his eye... _his injuries are too severe. He has to give up the life of a ninja..._ This wasn't the first time Lee asked for good news. Usually Gai would just avoid a straight answer, saying that the doctors needed more time for tests and such. He couldn't say the truth looking into those eyes, full of hope and promise. Those eyes which were so much like his own long ago, the eyes that gave him more reason to teach his way of the ninja. The same eyes which pained him so, for how could he crush the aspirations of one so ambitious and determined? Denying the means to train from the Genius of Hard Work would be a fate too cruel to bear.  
  
He couldn't avoid the question forever though. The truth will come out in one form or another, if not from his mouth then elsewhere. Gai closed his eyes, trying to deal with overwhelming feelings of guilt and sorrow. How could he tell his student that he couldn't pursue his dream anymore? No, he had to tell him. Now would be better than later, now rather than living content in a fleeting delusion. Slowing fixing his eyes on his beloved student, he firmed his gaze into Lee's eyes.  
  
"Lee, listen to me carefully. This might be one of the most painful things I ever had to say in a long while, perhaps my entire life." Gai's eyes still fixated onto an increasingly nervous gaze from Lee. "I couldn't really believe it myself when I heard it the first time. Or the second. I just told myself it couldn't possibly be true... All the medics, the doctors, everyone.... Lee... y-... the injuries from the last match... are truly severe... and..."  
  
Gai's words trailed off, this sort of anguish was too much. Lee's eyes filled with increasing anxiety, a worried expression spread over his face. Guilt began to overtake Gai's sense. Suddenly, Gai thought back to the time of the battle. Watching his student's limbs snap under the malicious sand and listening to the shout of pain reverberate in his head made the guilt an overwhelming burden ... _If only... if only I had stopped the match sooner. Lee was weakened so much after the Secondary Lotus... and I knew that. Why didn't I come in after that rush of sand. I could have prevented it... If only I came earlier..._  
  
_No, I can't let his destiny, his ambition which led him so far stop now. I won't let it!_ Gai thought to himself. _There's still a chance... there has to be a way. I won't give up on him._  
  
Gai looked at Lee with fresh eyes, still determined but revitalized. "What I meant was that your injures are pretty severe, but if you stick with me, you can still recover and go back to training like you always have. You'll eventually get back on your feet, and I'll help you to get there, no matter what." Gai gave a gleaming smile, with yet another one of his trademarks: the good-guy thumbs up.  
  
_Gai-sensei flashed his good-guy thumbs up._ Lee thought. _That means it's true, he never goes back on his word! If Gai-sensei says I can do it, then I can. Alright!_  
  
_I flashed my good-guy thumbs up_. Gai thought. _That means Lee has 100% trust in me. There's no turning back now, since I still haven't told him the whole truth yet. My student has placed his total faith in me. I can't falter now, I have to find a way to get him back to his old self..._  
  
Lee felt a tear or two well up in his eyes. "Gai-sensei..."  
  
"Don't say anymore Lee." Gai started to feel tears in his eyes as well. "You... you..." They embraced each other only as a teacher and his favorite student could. The sound of waves crashing upon a rocky shore could be heard in the distance, and a brilliant light shone through. A student's hope rests upon the shoulders of a teacher's determination and grit. Hopefully Lee can reach his dreams, but every ambition must go through some hardships. A challenge at best for the Genius of Hard Work....  
  
To be continued... 


	2. That's a Promise

A/N: The following takes place a little before Tsunade's return to Konoha village  
  
Disclaimer: Naruto = not mine  
  
Chapter 2  
  
"150!" A dull thud resounds throughout the forest.  
  
"151!" Splinters of wood crumble into dust, falling at the foot of a large and well-worn tree trunk.  
  
"152! 153!... 154!" The rhythmic thud and count continues unabated as Lee finds himself in a familiar place. This is where it all started, and where it shall continue till he could prove to himself and everyone else of his nindo. Training this time around was getting increasingly hard. Some of his routines were so ingrained that it was second nature, almost like breathing. Trying to do them all on essentially half his body was a different matter. Lee's near perfect body mechanics and speed were reduced to a mere shadow of itself. Hook punch after backhand lacked the explosive power and fluid grace that could only come with balance and synchronization, a sheer ballet of the body. It frustrated Lee a bit, but he had to keep going.  
  
"199!... 200!" Lee sunk to the ground for quick breather. He looked up at the brilliant sky and breathed in deep, taking in the fresh afternoon air. Squinting away from the sun's hot gaze, he thought back to Gai's words, still fresh in his memory. Lee looked over the left side of his body. Under the mass of torn flesh and fractured bone was that faint hope, placed upon the shoulders of his teacher, the one who had guided him this far along. With one final exhale, Lee carefully braced himself on his crutch to start yet again. "Alright, since I couldn't do 200 right-handed punches, I'll have to do 300 right-legged squats!"  
  
Gai whistled through the trees with a quickened pace. The good-guy promise that he made to Lee would finally be fulfilled today. Gai tried everything in his power to speed along his recovery. He clutched the bag in his hand a little tighter, not wanting its precious contents to spill out. _Lee certainly likes these things. It has to have an effect on his recovery_, Gai thought, striding along the branches with deft ease.  
  
Closing in on the training clearing, he decided to stop and observe the training of his student for a moment. Brushing aside a few leaves, Gai witnessed his student's famous determination. Left leg forward, right knee bending up and down, Lee strained under the beaming sun. _Ah, just what I expected from my student. Sometimes he overdoes it a little... I better tell him the good news before he collapses._ Gai leapt off of branch high above the ground.  
  
"Yo, Lee!"  
  
"Gai-sensei!"  
  
"Lee, I have some good news for you. I hear that Tsunade-sama came in awhile ago. She's the medic-nin of the legendary three, so she has to be able to cure your wounds!"  
  
Lee's eyes began to tear a bit. A smirk appeared upon his face, gradually evolving into a wide smile. Looking at Lee's face, Gai knew that this had to be the day. It just had to be... "Let's go, Lee."  
  
Gai braced his student upon his shoulders and started walking toward the center of the village. "Oh yes, munch on these Spring of Youth regeneration dumplings. I know how much you like them, and it will give you strength for the long walk."  
  
Lee still couldn't get over the nasty taste of the stuff, but after all, it did help his recovery... maybe. "Ossu!" he said as he reached into the bag, taking a big bite out of one of the disfigured dumplings. _Hey... they're not too bad this time around_ Lee thought. Maybe Gai-sensei's cooking improved a little, or the excitement was getting to him. In any case, both of them couldn't wait for what was to come...  
  
_  
What did I hear just now? This can't be... this can't be at all..._  
  
The hallway seemed to stretch onto eternity, mirroring the fate that was bestowed upon him just a few moments ago. A wave of emotions flowed over in his being so deep and numerous that it melded together into a single anguish. Upon his face was a stare that cut through everything in its path, and focused on nothing. He had no idea where he was going, what he was thinking, what was to become of him. All hope had vanished, never to return. What would his life be like now? Would he actually be living in a state like this?  
  
Never in his life had he lost his faith in what was to come next. He never needed to, for he never lost faith in the present. All the worries of the future were alleviated with the determination that he possessed right at the moment. And now that was gone. With nothing to fall back on anymore, he felt a loneliness that he never experienced before. With every step he took to leave that place, he felt his cruel fate bear down on him more and more, a feeling of helplessness overtaking him. After hearing those words from the new Hokage, all he knew was that he had to get as far away from that place as his body could take him, to somewhere familiar.  
  
Unconsciously, Lee made his way to the place where it all began, the place where his ambition really took root. He hobbled his way to the bench overlooking the village, gingerly setting himself down. His breathing took a slower pace, and Lee tried to make sense of it all. Vacant stares into nothing gave way to melancholy ones, hinting at the pain of one who had lost everything with the will of mere words. The realization was slowly sinking in... _I might not be able to reach my nindo anymore.  
_  
He shut his eyes fast and hard, trying to dam up the river of tears now flowing freely down his cheek. Releasing a heavy sigh into the night air, he leaned back and looked for reassurance in the moonlight above. _So, this is the place where it all started._ He remembered all those giggles that followed his failed attempts at ninjutsu. He remembered the long shadows on the ground as day gave way to night in the training grounds. Of all these memories, what hurt the most was the things that weren't there at all; no one that he could truly call a friend, no one to give him guidance, no one really to lean on when the world seemed too much to handle. _Such lonely times, guess its only natural to think of them now_...  
  
_That's right, this is where I met him too._ Gai-sensei was the one who filled that void, gave him that voice which told him to hold fast to the way of life which he determined for himself. A sad smile crept upon his face as he thought back to the day when teams were introduced. Curiously, his thoughts also led to one of the many matches between Gai and his eternal rival Kakashi.  
  
_Janken... even for Gai-sensei it was a bit silly. It's still a wonder why he agreed to settle the score with that, and to subject himself to something like that after._ At that moment, Lee felt a slight warmth and weight upon his shoulder. "I knew you would be here."  
  
Gai greeted his student with a sparkling smile and wink. "How did you know I was here?" his student asked.  
  
"I know everything about you." Lee responded with a smile, which quickly faded away. Gai looked upon his student with intense, warm eyes as Lee spoke. Lee recalled his first days as a genin and the ambition to override genius with hard work. Clenching his fists tight, Lee then spoke of the futility of hard work against overwhelming odds which remain far from his grasp. The frustration and anger over his helplessness echoed in Lee's voice as Gai looked deeper into his student's eyes.  
  
_I know Lee, this is a harsh fate for fools like us, who only have our nindo to live for. To give up on our dreams so easily, now that would be the harshest fate of all. I already gave you my word, and I'm not about to abandon them. Your fight is my fight, after all._  
  
"Take the surgery Lee."  
  
Upon the utterance of these words, Gai reminded Lee once again of the depth of his conviction. Gai reminded his student of the true significance of that silly Janken match. A promise holds considerable weight, and Gai imposed a great promise upon himself indeed.  
  
"Ever since I met you, my nindo was to make you into a great ninja. That's a promise!"  
  
Tears began to well up again in Lee's eyes. That was it right there. There wasn't really much of a choice to begin with. All he needed to do now was to step forward, guided by a sure and steady hand. Luck was also a skill after all, and he was willing to put his skills to the test.  
  
To be continued. 


	3. The Strongest Man: Chidori vs Rasengan

A/N: The Sasuke rescue mission (up to Chap 218) and beyond. Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: Naruto = not mine  
  
**Chapter 3**  
  
The still air complemented the silence filling the tense atmosphere within the room. A clock hung on the wall, ticking down the long seconds, each one reverberating in the ears of the two jounin in anxious wait. One of the jounin, palms folded in front of his face, looking at nothing in particular with a vacant stare. The other leaned back on a couch, arms crossed over his chest, casting an immense glare toward the ground. Both tried to appear as calm as possible, but to no avail.  
  
_Damn... this atmosphere is too heavy. I need to calm down._ Reaching into his vest, he produced a pack of cigarettes. Tapping the bottom, he found a lucky last cigarette hiding within the box. Lighting it up, he took a long drag and puffed high toward the ceiling.  
  
"Hey, Asuma, do you think they're going to be alright?"  
  
Taking another drag, Asuma replied, "I really can't tell. You looked at the shape they were in when we last saw them."  
  
Gai looked down toward the floor of the waiting room. When the medic-nin rushed the two genin into intensive care, he saw but a glimpse of what they were subjected to. That glimpse wasn't something entirely new, but it was horrible nonetheless.  
  
"I want them to pull through as much as you do, believe me. But, really, to revive them in the state they're in... would be nothing short of a miracle."  
  
As much as Gai would hate to admit it, Asuma was right. Any chance of reviving those two would be nothing more than wishful thinking at this point. _First the Third Hokage, now this?_ Gai knew as well as any shinobi that death was something that will inevitably happen, but the empty void that remains after the loss of any comrade is something that no one could ever get accustomed to, especially in the case of a student.  
  
Asuma snuffed out his cigarette in a nearby ashtray. "Damn politics," Asuma said in a gruff tone. "Sending out genin to fight Orochimaru's right hand men. As good as those genin are, they're still too green. There's too much promise that could be lost."  
  
Placing his feet on the nearby table and crossing them together, Asuma looked up at the ceiling once again and continued, "I have to hand it to them though. Orochimaru's right hand men were pretty damn strong, strong enough to beat two jounin. In the end, they did what any good shinobi would do. I'm not happy that things had to turn out this way, but I'm proud that they did what they could. Couldn't ask for anything more, really."  
  
"Yea, they're good students. No, they're good shinobi of the Leaf, and any village with half that sort of dedication would be proud." Gai looked up at the wall clock. The clock ticked at an excruciating pace now. The ticks deepened into a low thud, delaying those inevitable, painful words.  
  
_Neji...you have to pull through. There's still so much to do. You have to survive!_  
  
The door to the waiting room suddenly creaked open. Tsunade stepped in and looked at the two jounin square in the eyes. Asuma and Gai slowly arose from their seats.  
  
"Asuma, Gai. You might want to sit down for this one..."

* * *

Lee raced through the tree limbs, accompanied by a most unlikely ally. He was yet again racing against time to get to Naruto and help out however he could. With Gaara close behind, taking Sasuke back to Konoha was well assured. If they could make it to Naruto on time, that is.  
  
"Gaara, Naruto should be close ahead. Hurry!"  
  
Gaara followed close in tow, slowly realizing a certain familiarity with the surroundings. It was a particular, odd familiarity. It had nothing to do with the scenery either. Gaara didn't recognize the place; the location was fairly new to him. Gaara sensed something different, something amiss. An uneasy power, a chakra that was just as unsettling as the Shukaku that resided within his own body. As they pressed forth, the chakra began to grow steadily.  
  
"They're close. We better get prepared for anything, maybe something even worse than Kimimaro."  
  
Lee glanced over to Gaara from the corner of his eye. Kimimaro was the one strong enough to break through Gaara's Desert Requiem jutsu, the jutsu that flattened a clearing of forest in a blanket of sand. He couldn't imagine what could come next at that point. To think of something worse than that was a bit unsettling...  
  
_No, I haven't gotten this far thinking like that. All I can do now is to run as fast as my legs can take me, to help out as much as I can. He would do the same, I know it. I..._  
  
Suddenly Lee found himself sprawled on the ground below. "Unghh... maybe that sake affected me more than I realized."  
  
"No, its not that." Gaara pulled himself up from a makeshift shield of sand that cushioned his own fall from the trees. "Look ahead on that ridge there."  
  
Lee heard the faint chirping of birds in the distance. As he turned around to look, he focused in on a ball of dazzling light. "I've seen that before."  
  
"So have I. We have to hurry." Gaara helped Lee off the ground and two made their way to the ridge with incredible haste.  
  
A grim figure approached closer, with Chidori chirping in his right hand. "Dobe, do you think you can stop my ambition with that little thing? No matter what you do, I have these two eyes. I can see everything that you do."  
  
Naruto, staggering up from the ground, looked up at Sasuke. _He countered the Rasengan that easily? I trained so hard for it... it was one of Yondaime's most powerful jutsus. And it gets brushed away like that?_  
  
As Sasuke walked forth, the cursed seal on his neck began to spread like wild fire, making his hair stand on end, altering his shape into a beast- like form. His left arm tensed and strained under the pull of immense chakra. The chirping began to multiply.  
  
"Do you know how long I waited for this power, this power surging through me right now? Do you know how long I've waited for this moment, the feeling that I can finally avenge my clan? You cannot possibly understand that feeling. No one, not you, not any one of the Leafs, can take this away from me. You hear me?! NARUTO!!!"  
  
Sasuke charged forth, awakened and at demonic speed, ripping the earth in two deep grooves as he dragged his hands toward Naruto. Naruto in turn jumped up and did a quick bunshin no jutsu. He felt the chakra swirling around in his palm, countered by that of his bunshin.  
  
_He's coming, coming closer._ Sasuke came ever so close, so close that Naruto could feel the chirping of birds tingle the small of his back. The Rasengan meshed in between the two hands swirled with greater ferocity. _He countered this once before..._ Naruto looked into the Sharingan doublet, widening with each step and piercing into his eyes. _I already tried this before, and it didn't do anything._  
  
_...But, you looked down on the Leafs so easily. Your friends, your teachers, your rivals. The ones who love you, who care for you, who would give their life for you. Looking down on that... now that's unforgivable. If this is all I have, then so be it. I'll bring him back with this!_  
  
The two Narutos charged forward as well, Rasengan whirling between them. "SASUKE!!!"  
  
Booming echoes erupted from the sheer brute force of the two colliding jutsus, infused with chakra beyond the scope of any ordinary man. Lee and Gaara reeled back a bit from the force of impact. _We have to help him out, Sasuke is too strong to be handled by one guy alone_, thought Lee as he started to jump onto the ridge of battle.  
  
"Don't come any closer!"  
  
As the dust settled, Lee and Gaara witnessed a heated deadlock between the Chidori and Rasengan. Sasuke's double Chidori threw off his reaction time for a fraction of a second, merely stopping the Rasengan from coming within deadly range inside his chest. Naruto struggles to maintain the incredible whiling force of his jutsu, but held fast to repel Sasuke's attack.  
  
"Don't come any closer. You guys helped me get those other pesky Orochimaru lovers out of the way already. Now, this is my fight. A strong man always keeps his promises, no matter what."  
  
Gaara began to jump onto the ridge, but Lee cast an arm aside. "Lee, he's not going to be able to do it on his own. Look for yourself."  
  
Lee saw the tension marked on the grimace on Naruto's face, the muscles shaking under the extreme flow of chakra. A small part of him wanted to help. But, those words, those familiar words, stopped him from going any further.  
  
"No, he can do this. Let him fight his own fight, and keep his promise. He will win, and bring Sasuke back."  
  
Gaara reluctantly took a step back. All Lee and Gaara could do now was wait and see the events unfold, to see a strong man and his will to keep a promise.  
  
"You're pitiful, still holding onto such sentimental notions. It doesn't matter either way. One at a time, or all at once, no one will stop my ambition."  
  
"Sasuke, you never really understood anything about true strength, haven't you?"  
  
Sasuke infused a sudden surge of chakra in his arms to push the Rasengan back. Naruto was thrown backward, rolling on the ground and crashing into the rock wall several feet behind him. Sasuke yet again approached Naruto in a nonchalant saunter.  
  
"That's true strength right there, Naruto. That strength can't be found in friends, family, ideals, or any of those empty things. This is true strength, right here, flowing in my body, the power that Orochimaru gave me." Sasuke once again activated his Chidori.  
  
Naruto gave a small smirk. "You don't understand at all, Sasuke."  
  
Sasuke could hear a faint whirling sound from behind him. "That can't possibly be!" The Naruto in front of him vanished in smoke. Sasuke took a sharp turn around to the dashing Narutos behind him. The surprised look on his face gave way to a deep scowl.  
  
A third Naruto came from the right, leaping into the air. "Kage Bunshin no Justu!" Countless amounts of Narutos began converging on Sasuke at once.  
  
"Come, all of you! I'll burn down every single one of you till I rip the real one to shreds!" Sasuke dispelled his Chidori and performed a few seals, then took a deep breath.  
  
"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" Blazing fireballs were spat in all directions in rapid succession. Naruto knew he'd seen this technique before, but not at this rate of speed. Nor did he expect this many to be coming all at once. Bunshins were immolated in flames from all directions around the real Naruto. Normally this would put him in a dire situation, just like the fight with Kimimaro.  
  
But, Naruto knew better than that. All he needed were a good few to escape the volley of flames, and this could all be over even before Sasuke could activate Chidori again. The multiple Naruto bunshin remaining out of the hundreds held back waves of the incendiary jutsu back with newly formed Rasengan.  
  
_If I can hold back his fire jutsu back a little more, he won't be able to use his Chidori for awhile. Right when the volley stops is when he's most vulnerable. I must hold on._  
  
The flames still licked all around Naruto, brushing ever so close against him. Maintaining the Rasengan took an increasing toll on his body, which was magnified by the several bunshin trying to maintain it as well. The pain didn't matter at this point though. This was his last shot, the only thing he could do at this point.  
  
_Just a little closer._  
  
The flames began to subside, and through the smoke Naruto saw an opening into Sasuke's chest.  
  
_Not yet, I have to get closer._  
  
Ever so close, Naruto caught a glimmer of blue light, which turned into two. His opportunity was now.  
  
Sasuke thrust out his arms to the left and right of him, catching a pair of flanking balls of whirling chakra. Again, the Chidori and Rasengan clashed in a violent deadlock.  
  
Naruto flinched slightly at the impact of the two jutsu. Fixing an intense stare into Sasuke's eyes, Naruto yelled out the final command.  
  
"Do it, now!"  
  
Paired bunshin in front and behind Sasuke charged full speed, Rasengan swirling with unparalleled force. A bunshin in both pairs vanish in a cloud of smoke, leaving two Naruto bunshin charging in at opposite directions. Lunging forward, the two Narutos thrust with full force at both of Sasuke's arms.  
  
Sasuke lets out a cry of intense pain. The muscles in both of his arms felt as if they were being pried clean off the bone. "Not done yet!" Naruto yelled as another bunshin suddenly appeared and landed a clean blow to his face, propelling his body straight up.  
  
"RA!-SEN!-GAN!"  
  
Naruto bunshin, each with Rasengan in hand, struck Sasuke's body from all directions, encasing Sasuke in a cage of swirling chakra while his body moved and twisted in odd directions, far beyond his control. The real Naruto leaps up from ground and knocks Sasuke out of the Rasengan cage.  
  
Sasuke's body twisted yet higher into the sky, and Naruto followed. Naruto activated his final Rasengan, pulling forth all the chakra that he could muster, swelling it to the size of a basketball, which then took on a brilliant orange tint. "This is the last one!"  
  
"NARUTO NO RENDAN!"  
  
Naruto swung his arm in a wide arc above his head, pummeling the basketball-sized Rasengan into Sasuke's torso. Spinning like a top, Sasuke plummeted toward the ground.  
  
The ground thundered under the incredible force, tearing apart the earth in large chunks that sprayed into all directions. Naruto collapsed into a heap close by, wincing at the jolt from his own fall. He braced himself on his left arm, and looked ahead of him. Indeed, a deep crater formed just several feet in front of him. He peered into the crater with glazed eyes, witnessing the extent of damage that he incurred. Sasuke lay sprawled at the bottom, the cursed seal that covered his body now receding. He wasn't moving.  
  
_Oh no... did I go too far?_ He stumbled into the crater, rolling along the sides until he came to rest at the bottom. He checked for any signs of life, leaning his head closer. To his relief, he heard some breath coming in raspy gasps. He also noticed something else that was peculiar. Little clumps of sand were retreating from Sasuke's body.  
  
_I lost myself for awhile back there. If you hadn't come in... I don't know what would have happened. You're the last person I expect to do this sort of thing. But, I'll still have to thank you later for that._  
  
The gourd on Gaara's back retrieved the last of the sand, and was capped. "Why did you shield his fall?" Lee asked.  
  
"Don't get me wrong. I still think he's dangerous, and it would have been better if I didn't."  
  
"Then why?"  
  
"If I didn't shield him, he couldn't fulfill that promise he was talking about, right?"  
  
"But, you don't have any idea what his promise is, do you?"  
  
"I don't. Call it intuition. I assumed as such since that's the kind of person he is, after all. This might be the true strength he possesses." Gaara rubbed the 'Love' symbol on his forehead.  
  
Lee softened his gaze on Gaara. _Naruto, you really do have an magical effect on people, don't you?  
_  
"Gaara, lets go down to Naruto." Gaara acknowledged with a nod.  
  
As the two approached the crater, Naruto was dragging Sasuke to the top with his left arm. His right arm was all but useless at the moment, shaking in tremors under the stress of the intense chakra. Naruto's breathing was heavy and labored, but he seemed to be relatively fine. He laid Sasuke down nearby and sat down with a thud. Naruto exhaled high toward the sky, shutting his eyes and relaxing his muscles as best he could.  
  
"Ku ku ku... do you think you won or something? Its not over."  
  
Naruto swung his gaze squarely on the figure lying beside him.   
  
"This doesn't change anything, dobe. Once I go back to the village, all I have to do is get patched up. Then, when everything dies down for awhile, I'll head off to Orochimaru again. You merely extended the inevitable."  
  
This set off something within Naruto's mind. He lunged for Sasuke's throat, grabbing his collar with his good left hand.   
  
"Don't give me that crap Sasuke! You're not going to subject the village to this again! Haven't you realized yet the sacrifice your comrades made already for your selfish quest of power? Haven't you realized that you're merely a tool to be discarded after Orochimaru takes over your body? What the hell is wrong with you!?"  
  
"Friends? Comrades? Loved ones? All empty words which are supposed to shield the weak from their pitiful lot in life. What I want is strength, the strength to kill my brother and avenge my clan. That is all there is, and I haven't found it with you Leafs."  
  
"You think your clan wants you to become what you are now? You think that's strength you're talking about? That's not strength. Strength is..."  
  
"Don't start! You, of all people, should know better. Strength to protect those you love. All weak notions... all of them! You're a hypocrite, one of the worst ones. How can you say such things when all your power is derived from that demon inside you, the Kyubi?"  
  
Naruto's rage erupted. "You want to know the true nature of the Kyubi, the one that detests me and wants to engulf me with each passing moment? Can you really understand the extent of that? Very well, I'll show you!"  
  
Naruto thrust his head into Sasuke's, forcing him to look into his eyes.  
  
_Hey, you dumb fox! I need you to do something. Show my stupid friend how ugly and full of hate you are. Show him everything. Show him what you want to do with me the moment you get the chance to. Don't make me say it twice.  
_  
"Don't look away, no matter what you do! Look with wide open eyes, and tell me what you see! Is that really true strength? Is that what you want? Answer me!"  
  
Sasuke beheld something that was beyond all his fears, striking him to the core of his being. The sight in front of his eyes reminded him of his encounter with Itachi, reliving the pain of the slaughter of his clan. No, in some ways, it was actually worse. Sasuke couldn't describe it, but the fear that pricked the back of his neck was different than what he felt when Itachi left him alive, different than when he 'died' during the application of the second level cursed seal. _So, this is the Kyubi? This was the thing inside Naruto?_  
  
Sasuke looked dumbfounded at Naruto, at a loss for words. "I can't understand the pain of losing everyone that you held dear. I didn't have anyone to lose. You know how painful it was to be alone, to be alone with that horrible fox? I can't let my guard down for a moment. He would infiltrate my dreams, invade my thoughts. I had to live for most of my life listening only to him during the long sleepless nights."  
  
Naruto loosened up the tenseness coursing through his body, looking at Sasuke with a melancholy gaze. "Worse than that, there was no one there who cared for me, to take that loneliness away. It's a hell that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. No one deserves that kind of pain. I thought I would eventually lose the battle raging deep inside me, at which he would engulf me and I would cease to exist. I would be gone forever, and no one would know the difference."  
  
"Then, I was saved. People acknowledged me for who I was, not for the Kyubi inside of me. I wasn't merely the vessel of a dreaded demon anymore; I was Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konoha. And that's where I found true strength."  
  
_Hate me, detest me._ Sasuke's mind was cloudy with rage. _Not this again._  
  
"Sasuke, you're weak."  
  
_Hate me, detest me._  
  
"It's not because you lack the sheer amount of jutsu, or the limitless amount of chakra to mold. That's not strength."  
  
_Hate me, detest me._  
  
"You're weak because you can't let anyone help you, or admit that you have weakness. You're weak... because you can't let yourself love and be loved. It's solely this reason why I'm still talking to you here, and the Kyubi raging inside me is kept at bay. It gives me courage, the strength and resolve to protect those that do love me. It gives me reason to do foolish and silly things, as long as I can help those that I care for."  
  
_Hate me, detest me._  
  
"So, stop being so weak, and come back to the Leafs. I guarantee you'll find the answer you've been searching for with us, your comrades, those who care and protect you, and those that you protect in turn."  
  
_Hate me, detest me._  
  
"After all, you're trying to beat your brother down now, right? You can't listen to what he says forever..."  
  
Sasuke looked up to Naruto with a sudden start.  
  
"And... if you make Sakura cry like that again, I won't forgive you so easily." Sasuke, with what appeared to be a minute smile forming at the corners of his lips, collapsed back to the ground.  
  
"Hey, you guys, come here quick," Naruto said to Lee and Gaara. He started to collapse forward, at which Lee caught him, halfway down toward the ground.  
  
"Thanks fuzzy brows. Think this is what I get for trying to look and talk all cool like, ehh? Hey, you guys don't mind dragging us back to Konoha, right?" Naruto said with a tired grin on his face.  
  
Gaara made his way toward Sasuke lying on the ground. "Thanks," uttered Naruto as Gaara passed him by. With that, Naruto collapsed in Lee's grasp.  
  
Gaara braced Sasuke over his shoulder. Lee looked over to him. "So, shall we make our way?"  
  
Gaara nodded, and the two headed off toward Konoha. Lee, happy as he was with the whole outcome of the mission, didn't feel quite at ease. Something tugged at him, a certain sort of regret, a regret he couldn't really pinpoint. Well, that had to wait until they got to Konoha. After all, he had the "future" Hokage snug over his shoulder.  
  
**To be continued.**


End file.
